90

A group of Italian psychosociologists belonging to a training and consulting organization is confronted with the fact that the dates of its annual conference—an important meeting for its clients—coincide with a nationwide general strike that unions have declared at the last minute. This coincidence produces many tensions, actions, and reactions, brings to the fore underlying representations of the relation between the professional and the political, and raises questions about the political positions of individuals as well as those of the group as a whole. This article proposes to analyze these vicissitudes. It explores the meaning of psychosociological work in the present Italian political context and, at the same time, shows how attitudes toward politics affect psychosociologists’ orientations, projects, and practices.